Install VDAs

There are two types of VDAs for Windows machines: VDA for Server OS and VDA for Desktop OS. (For information about VDAs for Linux machines, see the Linux Virtual Delivery Agent documentation.)

Important:

Before you start an installation, review Prepare to install. For example, the machine should have the latest Windows updates. If required updates are not present (such as KB2919355), installation fails.

Before installing VDAs, you should have already installed the core components. You can also create the Site before installing VDAs.

This article describes the installation wizard sequence when installing a VDA. Command-line equivalents are provided. For details, see Install using the command line.

Use a local administrator account on the image or machine where you’re installing the VDA. Insert the DVD in the drive or mount the ISO file. If the installer does not launch automatically, double-click the AutoSelect application or the mounted drive.

Step 2. Choose which product to install

Click Start next to the product to install: Citrix Virtual Apps or Citrix Virtual Desktops. (If the machine already has a Citrix Virtual Apps or Citrix Virtual Desktops component installed, this page does not appear.)

Step 3. Select the VDA

Select the Virtual Delivery Agent entry. The installer knows whether it’s running on a Desktop or Server OS, so it offers only the appropriate VDA type.

For example, when you run the installer on a Windows 10 machine, the VDA for Desktop OS option is available. The VDA for Server OS option is not offered.

If you try to install (or upgrade to) a Windows VDA on an OS that is not supported for this Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops version, a message guides you to information that describes your options.

Step 4. Specify how the VDA will be used

On the Environment page, specify how you plan to use the VDA, indicating whether or not you’ll use this machine as a master image to provision additional machines.
The option you choose affects which Citrix provisioning tools are installed automatically (if any), and the default values on the Additional Components page of the VDA installer.
Several MSIs (provisioning and other) are installed automatically when you install a VDA. The only way to prevent their installation is with the /exclude option in a command-line installation.

Choose one of the following:

Create a master MCS image: Select this option to install a VDA on a VM master image, if you plan to use Machine Creation Services to provision VMs. This is the default option. Command-line option: /mastermcsimage or /masterimage

Create a master image using Citrix Provisioning or third-party provisioning tools: Select this option to install a VDA on a VM master image, if you plan to use either Citrix Provisioning or third-party provisioning tools (such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager) to provision VMs. Command-line option: /masterpvsimage

(Appears only on server OS machines) Enable brokered connections to a server: Select this option to install a VDA on a physical or virtual machine that will not be used as a master image to provision other machines. Command-line option: /remotepc

(Appears only on desktop OS machines) Enable Remote PC Access: Select this option to install a VDA on a physical machine for use with Remote PC Access. Command-line option: /remotepc

Click Next.

This page does not appear:

If you’re upgrading a VDA

If you are using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer

Step 5. Select the components to install and the installation location

On the Core components page:

Location: By default, components are installed in C:\Program Files\Citrix. This default is fine for most deployments. If you specify a different location, that location must have execute permissions for network service.

Components: By default, Citrix Workspace app for Windows is not installed with the VDA. If you are using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer, Citrix Workspace app for Windows is never installed, so this check box is not displayed.

Step 6. Install additional components

The Additional Components page contains check boxes to enable or disable installation of other features and technologies with the VDA. In a command-line installation, you can use the /exclude or /includeadditional option to expressly omit or include one or more available components.

The following table indicates the default setting of items on this page. The default setting depends on the option you selected on the Environment page.

Excluding Citrix Profile Management from the installation affects the monitoring and troubleshooting of VDAs with Citrix Director. On the User details and EndPoint pages, the Personalization panel and the Logon Duration panel fail. On the Dashboard and Trends pages, the Average Logon Duration panel display data only for machines that have Profile Management installed.

Even if you are using a third-party user profile management solution, Citrix recommends that you install and run the Citrix Profile Management Service. Enabling the Citrix Profile Management Service is not required.

Citrix Files for Windows: This component enables users to connect to their Citrix Files account. They can then interact with Citrix Files through a mapped drive in the Windows file system (without requiring a full sync of their content).

Step 7. Delivery Controller addresses

On the Delivery Controller page, choose how you want to enter the addresses of installed Controllers. Citrix recommends that you specify the addresses while you’re installing the VDA (“Do it manually”). The VDA cannot register with a Controller until it has this information. If a VDA cannot register, users cannot access applications and desktops on that VDA.

Do it manually: (default) Enter the FQDN of an installed Controller and then click Add. If you’ve installed additional Controllers, add their addresses.

Do it later (Advanced): If you choose this option, the wizard asks you to confirm that’s what you want to do before continuing. To specify addresses later, you can either rerun the installer or use Citrix Group Policy. The wizard also reminds you on the Summary page.

Choose locations from Active Directory: Valid only when the machine is joined to a domain and the user is a domain user.

Let Machine Creation Services do it automatically: Valid only when using MCS to provision machines.

Click Next. If you selected “Do it later (Advanced),” you are prompted to confirm that you will specify Controller addresses later.

Other considerations:

The address cannot contain non-alphanumeric characters.

If you specify addresses during VDA installation and in Group Policy, the policy settings override settings provided during installation.

Successful VDA registration requires that the firewall ports used to communicate with the Controller are open. That action is enabled by default on the Firewall page of the wizard.

After you specify Controller locations (during or after VDA installation), you can use the auto-update feature to update the VDAs when Controllers are added or removed. For details about how VDAs discover and register with Controllers, see VDA registration.

Command-line option: /controllers

Step 8. Enable or disable features

On the Features page, use the check boxes to enable or disable features you want to use.

Optimize performance: Valid only when installing a VDA on a VM, not a physical machine. When this feature is enabled (default), the optimization tool is used for VDAs running in a VM on a hypervisor. VM optimization includes disabling offline files, disabling background defragmentation, and reducing event log size. For details, see CTX125874.

Command-line option: /optimize

If you are using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer, this feature does not appear in the wizard and the command-line option is not valid. If you are using another installer in a Remote PC Access environment, disable this feature.

Use Windows Remote Assistance: When this feature is enabled, Windows Remote Assistance is used with the user shadowing feature of Director. Windows Remote Assistance opens the dynamic ports in the firewall. (Default = disabled)

Command-line option: /enable_remote_assistance

Use Real-Time Audio Transport for audio: Enable this feature if voice-over-IP is widely used in your network. The feature reduces latency and improves audio resilience over lossy networks. It allows audio data to be transmitted using RTP over UDP transport. (Default = disabled)

You can change the port range later with the “Framehawk display channel port range” Citrix policy setting. You must then open local firewall ports. A UDP network path must be open on any internal (VDA to Citrix Workspace app or Citrix Gateway) and external (Citrix Gateway to Citrix Workspace app) firewalls. If Citrix Gateway is deployed, Framehawk datagrams are encrypted using DTLS (default UDP port 443). For details, see Framehawk.

Command-line option: /enable_framehawk_port

AppDisk / Personal vDisk: These technologies are deprecated. Valid only when installing a VDA for Desktop OS on a VM. This check box is available only if the Citrix AppDisk / Personal vDisk check box is selected on the Additional Components page. When this check box is enabled, AppDisks and Personal vDisks can be used.

Command-line option: /baseimage

If you are using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer, this feature does not appear in the wizard and the command-line option is not valid.

Step 9. Firewall ports

On the Firewall page, by default, the ports are opened automatically if the Windows Firewall Service is running, even if the firewall is not enabled. This default setting is fine for most deployments. For port information, see Network ports.

Click Next.

Command-line option: /enable_hdx_ports

Step 10. Review prerequisites and confirm installation

The Summary page lists what will be installed. Use the Back button to return to earlier wizard pages and change selections.

When you’re ready, click Install.

If prerequisites aren’t already installed/enabled, the machine may restart once or more times. See Prepare to install.

Step 11. Participate in Call Home

On the Smart Tools page, choose whether to participate in Citrix Call Home, which is now a part of Citrix Smart Tools. If you choose to participate (the default), click Connect. When prompted, enter your Citrix account credentials.

After your credentials are validated (or if you choose not to participate), click Next.

Step 12. Complete this installation

The Finish page contains green check marks for all prerequisites and components that installed and initialized successfully.

Click Finish. By default, the machine restarts automatically. (Although you can disable this automatic restart, the VDA cannot be used until the machine restarts.)

Next steps

Repeat the procedure above to install VDAs on other machines or images, if needed.

After you install all VDAs, launch Studio. If you haven’t created a Site yet, Studio automatically guides you to that task. After that’s done, Studio guides you to create a machine catalog and then a Delivery Group. See:

Troubleshoot

In the Studio display for a Delivery Group, the “Installed VDA version” entry in the Details pane might not be the version installed on the machines. The machine’s Windows Programs and Features display shows the actual VDA version.

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